Originally published in 2020, updated in 2025
Case Study: Campus Dining Mystery
Shopping for a National Food Services
Company
The Challenge
A national provider of residential and retail food services for college campuses wanted to
understand how well its dining employees were meeting customer expectations. Key
questions included:
– Were employees friendly, in uniform, and providing great service?
– Were specials properly advertised?
– Were wait times acceptable?
– Was food quality and cleanliness consistently maintained?
Campus dining presented unique challenges:
– Mystery shoppers needed access to restricted campus areas.
– Parking was often limited.
– Evaluations had to be scheduled only while colleges were in session.
The company needed a partner who could navigate these logistical hurdles while delivering
actionable insights.
The Objective
The food services company partnered with Confero to:
– Measure customer service, cleanliness, food quality, and merchandising across both
residential and retail campus dining locations.
– Provide separate surveys for on-campus and retail sites to enable detailed comparisons.
– Deliver reliable data at scale to support both corporate and regional decision-making.
Our Approach
Confero created a customized campus dining mystery shopping program:
– Tailored Surveys: Separate evaluations for residential dining halls and retail campus
eateries.
– Scheduling Management: Shops were carefully scheduled around the academic calendar to
ensure relevance.
– Nationwide Shopper Network: Access and logistical challenges were managed through
Confero’s extensive pool of mystery shoppers.
– Regional Flexibility: Regional managers could order additional shops independently, giving
them more control and faster feedback.
The Results
– Scale and Longevity: The program operated successfully for over 10 years, averaging about
500 shops per year.
– Consistent Performance: Mystery shopping scores frequently averaged in the low 90s,
demonstrating strong compliance with standards.
– Trend Tracking: Reporting allowed management to monitor long-term performance and
adjust training as needed.
– Operational Insights: The program helped leadership identify opportunities to improve
service consistency and food quality across multiple locations.
The Success
The college food services company strengthened its reputation for quality campus dining by
using Confero’s insights to refine training, maintain high standards, and reinforce
accountability across its nationwide operations.
Key Takeaway
Confero helps food service providers and hospitality companies nationwide evaluate
customer experience in even the most complex environments. By overcoming logistical
challenges and delivering scalable, long-term programs, Confero ensures actionable insights
that improve service, quality, and customer loyalty.
in campus dining and other hospitality sectors.
Learn about all the customer experience research services Confero offers.
Summary
Service Type
Area
Campus Dining Mystery Shopping Case Study | Confero
Provider Name
Confero, Inc., Telephone No.800-326-3880
United States
DescriptionLearn how a national food services provider improved campus dining service, quality, and consistency with Confero’s mystery shopping program.
